Saturday, January 20, 2007

The only used once, Boss 429 Bardahl Torino, prepped by Holman Moody Stroppe

This Torino was specifically built for Bobby Unser to use at Pikes Peak and it set a record in 1969 that held for 7 years! It still has the Boss 429 engine under the hood and is exactly as it was when raced. After running it was put in the Pikes Peak museum for several years then was shipped back to Bill Stroppe and stored away for several more years. It has remained untouched and original, right down to the original paint, motor, and even the Good Year Pikes Peak special tires are with the car!

Also an odd historical note, the 69 full race Torino Talladaga's had Boss 429 engines, but none of the publicly available Torino Talladaga's came with a Boss 429, they were instead fitted with thte 428 CJ, not as powerful... sad. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Torino_Talladega

This car was gifted with a Boss 429 that Smokey Yunick built, and when Unser wasn't satisfied with the gears in the axle, he had a new set made, that cost $35,000 alone. Bunkie Knudsen was running the operation to win at Pikes Peak, and money wasn't a problem, Knudsen told Unser anything it takes, win. No matter what.